– What hurts Trump the most is to be called a loser. He won’t accept it, says American studies professor at the University of Oslo, Randall J. Stephens.
In recent days, the former US president has been widely blamed for the disappointing results of the Republican Party in the midterm elections.
What was supposed to be a “red wave,” ended up with Democrats securing a majority in the Senate. At the same time, Republicans took over the House of Representatives.
Donald Trump made “a very important announcement” from his Florida estate on Tuesday. Here he will likely try to change the by-election narrative, according to Stephens.
– It’s possible that he will do like during the 2018 by-election, when he tried to present the results as good news, when they weren’t at all. He has said up front that he won’t accept blame if things go badly for Republicans in the by-election, the professor says.
Saved by the young
Internal resistance
Trump’s close aide Jason Miller said on Saturday that Trump would announce he would run in the next presidential election in 2024.
Stephens points out that Trump has made similar announcements before, but later turned around and withdrew.
The UiO professor points out that there are a group of leaders within the Republican Party who do not want him to announce his candidacy today.
– Both because it fared badly for the party in the midterm elections, but also because they think it could divert attention from Herschel Walker, who is now running for Republicans in the Senate elections in Georgia, says the professor.
Here none of the candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote, which means that there will be a runoff on January 6.
Warns the United States: – It will interfere
– Changed dramatically
Furthermore, according to Stephens, it is not unlikely that Trump will address a possible competitor for the Republican nomination, namely Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
– There is a possibility that the latter will announce his candidacy in the spring. Trump has already said some pretty nasty things about him, warning him not to run. Trump has no shame, so it’s possible he will address this in his speech tonight, the professor says.
US expert and associate professor Sofie Høgestøl is not as sure as she was before the midterm elections, whether Trump will declare himself a presidential candidate for the election in two years’ time.
– With Donald Trump, it’s always hard to say what he will do. He can spend weeks, months and years building something that never comes to anything. The basis for the announcement that Trump says will come on Tuesday has changed dramatically. It’s not an announcement that comes after a landslide election for Republicans. This will be a week after an election in which Trump hasn’t been spoken so strongly since after the 2016 primary, Høgestøl tells NTB.
“Enough is Enough”
The disappointing election result prompted several Republicans who had previously opposed Donald Trump to criticize the former president with new presidential ambitions.
– Voters have sent a clear message that enough is enough. They have made it clear that they want another leader, and a good leader knows when he has become a burden to the party. It’s time to move on,” former Trump supporter Winsome Earle-Sears, who is the lieutenant governor of Virginia, told Fox News.
According to Sofie Høgestøl, it is a completely new feature that Republicans openly criticize Donald Trump. The former president can no longer claim that he is the only one who can win the election for the Republicans.
– This is new and makes it a bit exciting. Now that there’s been an uproar and a slightly more organized opposition to Trump is suddenly boiling over, he may suddenly feel like he needs to step out and pick up the narrative. Trump’s instinct has often been that he needs to get out and in front of a camera and talk to people again, so he doesn’t lose control of the party. He often thinks that what will save him from a difficult situation is even more Trump on TV, says Høgestøl.
